


Petunia

by athazagoraphobia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 15:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14547651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athazagoraphobia/pseuds/athazagoraphobia
Summary: Oneshot - The inner workings of Petunias mind





	Petunia

**1\. November 1981**  
Something felt odd about this morning. Something felt wrong but Petunia could, for the love of god, not figure out what it was. Dudley was sitting in his chair, waiting impatiently for his breakfast. Although he had only slept for three hours the little boy somehow found the energy to scream and cry until he had his mother's unshared attention. "Petunia, darling. I need to leave now!", Vernon shouted from the hallway and she hurried to bring him his lunch. Three pork sandwiches. Just the way he liked them. "Have a wonderful day." Petunia smiled at her husband as she opened the door for him but instead of stepping outside Vernon remained exactly where he stood. Confused she followed his gaze only to let out a scream, when she saw the bundle on her doorstep. Two green eyes were looking up at her. Two green eyes, Petunia thought she would never see again in her life. The baby started screaming.  
Vernon pulled his wife back inside but didn't dare to shut the door. What if one of the neighbours noticed? "I'll call the police. This is some sort of dumb joke.", he puffed but again did not move. Instead he watched as his wife knelt down and picked up the letter that laid on top of the bundle. Couldn't the baby stop screaming? The neighbours would notice.  
Petunia could not stop thinking about those eyes. Lily's eyes. As she read the letter she started shaking. Reading it again and again but the words did not change and eventually her mind accepted the truth. She was dead. Her sister was dead.

**31\. July 1991**  
Her hands were shaking as she watched the little boy step out into the night. Followed by... by this thing. This thing that had hurt her son. Above her she could hear Vernons sluggish steps and his muffled curses. She was sitting on the sofa, holding her baby in her arms. "My poor baby.", she whispered. "Mommy will make sure you'll be alright, Darling. Mommy will protect you." Petunia carressed her sons head and closed her eyes. Maybe Vernon had been right after all. Maybe they should have never taken that boy in. Vernon had predicted a bad ending to this but she had insisted. He was her sister's boy after all.

**30\. July 1997**  
"Well - goodbye", Petunia said but she turned around at the sound of Harry's voice. "Goodybye." Why, she wasn't really sure herself. She looked at the young man he had grown up to be. It was almost sixteen years that she had to endure those eyes. Everytime she looked at him she saw her sister. From the very moment on she had seen him on her doorstep. Now he was all grown up and looked an awful lot like his bloody father. It would have been a lie to even think those last 16 years had been a pleasure. Looking back she had never liked having Harry in her house since every single time she looked at him, even in this very moment, she felt and unbearable pain. "Petunia!", Vernon called from outside the house. He hated having to give up the house. She did too but they were in danger. Her poor Dudley was in danger. At least that was what the boy said. Harry. Oh, how he stared at her with those eyes. Her eyes. Petunia barely understood what the boy was involved in. All she knew she wanted nothing to do with it. It would probably be for the best to never see him again. She would finally be able to entirely erase Lily from her life. "Be careful." Petunia bustled out of the room without looking at her nephew again. A tiny part of her longed to look into his eyes again. 

**25\. July 2014**  
Petunia stared at the letter. Heavy it laid in her hands and although she had trouble seeing, Petunia would recognise that green ink anywhere. In the kitchen she could hear Dudley play with his son. Petunia felt like laughing. Another one in the family. Until his very last day Vernon would say that her family was curse and always explain how lucky she had been. Maybe he had been wrong after all? Maybe her family had never been cursed. "Are you alright.", Dudley called from the kitchen and Petunia took a deep breath. She gave her son a meaningful look and handed the letter to her grandson. "It's addressed to you, darling."

**24\. August 2015**  
"He's here! He's here!" Petunia watched her grandson run around the house, excitedly waving this wooden stick around. Dudly went to greet his cousin while Petunia waited in the kitchen. From the very day her grandson had returned from that school he had never stopped talking about it. Never. All the times Petunia had listened to stories about ghosts, hexed object and flying around on brooms. But mostly he had talked about Harry Potter. The great Harry Potter and how he couldn't believe he was actually related to a hero. Petunia could hear Harry's voice from the hallway. He had brought his wife and his kids. Her gaze travelled to the book, carefully put away in a shelf. It was the only book about that world Petunia had picked up and reading it had been challenging. Reading about how her sister had died. Reading about her nephew. The boy who lived. Before that Petunia had never paid much attention to what her nephew had been involved in. "Hello, Aunt Petunia." Harry stood in the door, smiling at her. It had been almost 20 years. Petunia looked into his eyes and nearly started crying.

**17\. March 2016**  
Petunia had always feared death. She had lead a long life. She had loved and she had lost loved ones. She had a wonderful son and wonderful grandchildren. But she had done so many bad things. She was not scared of death itself. She embraced it as it came. No, she was afraid of followed death. Petunia awoke in light. Her body did not hurt and she felt graceful as she looked up. She stood on top of a small hill. Around her only meadows. It was beautiful. "Tuney." She had not heard that name in over 30 years. Petunia whirled around and looked directly into a pair of bright green eyes. She broke down, sobbing and hiding her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry." She did not dare to look at her sister.


End file.
